WASHINGTON — While it’s an open question whether jurors think Roger Clemens used performance-enhancing substances, they now know one thing for certain: His wife sure did.

Debbie Clemens said it happened on a whim, inspired by a newspaper article with the headline: “Boomers believe they’ve found a fountain of youth in a syringe.”

In fact, she said her husband was away, even though the reason Brian McNamee would have been staying at the Clemens’ house would have been to train Roger Clemens.

She said that when she told her husband about it later on the phone, she didn’t have to tell him what human growth hormone — HGH —was.

“I don’t think he thought it was bad,” she testified. “It wasn’t like doing heroin or something crazy.”

The mother of the couple’s four boys was always going to be a risky witness for her husband, and that was the case Friday as the perjury trial of the former pitcher reached the end of its eighth week.

While McNamee and Debbie Clemens gave differing accounts, her testimony might have bolstered McNamee’s credibility. Jurors now know he was telling the truth when he said he gave her an HGH shot during an extended stay at the Clemens’ home in Houston.

The defense is expected to rest Monday, and the jury could perhaps begin deliberations Tuesday afternoon.

Footnotes. A federal judge in Los Angeles has denied a motion by former major-league outfielder Lenny Dykstra to dismiss more than a dozen charges, including bankruptcy fraud and embezzlement. Trial is set to begin July 24. … Mariners ace Felix Hernandez will be pushed back a few days and start Tuesday night against the Padres. … Yankees reliever Joba Chamberlain threw off a mound for the first time since hurting his ankle in March and said, “It felt good. Another step forward.”

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